After a two-year break due to the pandemic, Aurora’s festival celebrating Puerto Rican culture is back on this year.
“We all have endured a lot from the pandemic, so to be able to bring the festival back for the community and celebrate our 50-year heritage in Aurora is rewarding,” said Iris Miller, president of the Aurora Puerto Rican Cultural Council.
The one-day festival, organized by the council, will be held from 1 to 9 p.m. July 31 at Water Street Square across from City Hall in downtown Aurora. Admission is free.
The event will feature music, live performances, an activity area for children, beer garden, authentic Puerto Rican food, pina coladas and ice cream vendors, organizers said. In addition to entertainment and food, this year the Aurora Puerto Rican Cultural Council will award $20,000 in multi-cultural educational scholarships at the fest.
The rich culture, vibrant music and flavorful cuisine of the island of Puerto Rico are central to this community gathering, said Miller, Aurora Puerto Rican Cultural Council president for the past five years.
Miller said the preparations are getting done with mixed emotions due to the loss of a few loyal board members.
“This year has been most emotional for me. We have experienced a lot of losses, people who became more than a board member and friend. They became family to us,” Miller said.
Miller’s responsibilities cover all of the requirements, including arranging food vendors and security for the patrons, she said. The next couple of weeks will be intense to make sure everything gets done, she said.
“As I am getting things situated I know from heaven our past board members have their hands in it, so in another respect I am happy we have been able pull the festival together,” Miller said.
The festival’s primary mission is for people to see each other again and celebrate and share the Puerto Rican heritage in Aurora, Miller said.
“We are fortunate to be able to continue this tradition of celebrating our heritage in the city of Aurora,” Miller said.
Organizers hope to pass on the tradition to the next generation, she said.
“While organizing the festival can get intense, it is all worth it and our younger people are seeing it. Hopefully as we move forward, the tradition will continue with the next generation taking it on,” Miller said.
Senior advisor and past president of the council Mirna Lopez-Rivera said after a two-year hiatus, people have reached out to the organization to participate and become sponsors of the festival.
“In the past years we struggled to get vendors and sponsors. We are feeling so much love from the city and community,” Lopez-Rivera said.
Many festivities are planned along with the festival. A Puerto Rican flag-raising ceremony will open Puerto Rican Heritage week at 10 a.m. July 23 at One Aurora Plaza, 8 E. Galena Blvd. The Paramount Theatre will kick off its $1 Movie Mondays with the showing of “200 Cartas” starring Lin-Manuel Miranda at 7 p.m. July 25.
A pre-fest celebration featuring a performance by the band Chicago Latin Groove will be held at 6:30 p.m. July 29 at the outdoor patio at La Quinta de los Reyes, 36 W. New York St. in Aurora.
For more information on the upcoming festivities, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/aprcc/.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
